The Kankobela Of The Batonga

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Album Info

Release Date: 2016-07-13

Label: SWP Records

The kankobela is the thumb-piano of the Batonga people who live either side of Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Upon hearing this music you will ask yourself, is this not an acoustic instrument?! Indeed it is – the ‘distortion’ you hear is made by taking the membrane a mother spider spins around her eggs and stretching it over a small hole in the hardwood plank of the instrument to create that wonderful buzzing, and the ‘wah-wah’ effect is achieved by lifting the plank at one end slightly off and back on the resonator. The less taut the membrane, the heavier the buzz: Tongatronics, but without any electricity! Otherworldly songs, mesmerising time patterns – groovy, funky, ancient, modern. 8 tracks taken from the CDs SWP 036 and 039. 180 grams pressing

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